


As the Sun Sets

by Young_Professer



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: AU (Obviously), Heavy Angst, I'm sorry I wrote this but I also regret nothing, Mace dies specifically, people die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-07 23:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20825819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Young_Professer/pseuds/Young_Professer
Summary: I already wrote a Clone Wars fic where Depa dies, so I had to do one where Mace does. Because I can.





	As the Sun Sets

Depa was walking down the hallways of the  _ Insight  _ with Grey when she felt the bolt of the laser cannon rip through Mace's stomach like it was her own body. She stumbled, a low cry escaping her lips while in her heart's eye seeing his body drop limply to the ground.

Grey was at her side instantaneously, asking what was wrong, but she ignored him for a moment, closing her eyes and sending pulses of life-force to her master across their bond. He was nearby, she knew. She wouldn't have felt them moment with such intensity if they hadn't been passing the system he has in, even at the speed of hyperspace.

"It was the force, Grey." She said, willing her voice to be steady. "I felt- My master-"

She cut the sentence off there, instead lifting her wrist to comm the bridge. 

"Admiral, what system did we just pass?"

"The Ingo System, General." Came the reply. 

The Ingo System. "I need you to stop the ship in the nearest safe system we can." She ordered. "I am urgently needed elsewhere. I'll take my fighter."

"Understood, General BIllaba." The admiral sounded confused, but she was grateful that he followed the instructions without questioning. Unike Grey, who still hadn't removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Ma'am what's wrong?" He asked quietly, concern radiating off of him in the force. "Why do you have to leave so quickly?"

Depa took a deep breath, releasing the top layer of her emotions with it. "My master, the man who trained me as a Jedi, was just fatally wounded." She told him, the sense of urgency she felt making her heart race. "He is still alive at the moment, and I want to be there when he-" She almost choked, and Grey's hand tightened on her shoulder in understanding. She didn't have to finish the sentence, but Master Billaba forced herself to. "When he goes." 

"I see, ma'am." The commander dropped his arm back to his side, inclining his head in respect. "Would you like us to wait for you before returning to Coruscant?"

Depa hadn't actually thought that far ahead, and she paused for a moment, thinking. "No, go on ahead." She decided. "I'll return with- on his ship."

"Yes, General." Grey looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't know exactly what. He was probably trying to figure out if giving comfort as an acceptable behavior toward his superior. 

"I'm telling you this as a friend, Grey." She said. "This stays between us for now."

The man nodded, looking relieved, and the Jedi turned around towards the hangar bay where her ship was. She was too far away to feel what had happened with Mace, but she knew he wasn't dead. What she didn't know was the status of the battle on and over Ingo, she might enter into a space battle and not make it it time to say goodbye.

Time. She needed time, Mace needed time. Time neither of them had.

_ Help him hold on.  _ Depa begged the force.  _ Help him hold on for a little bit longer. _

________

Depa stretched out her senses the moment she exited hyperspace, searching for her master amidst the feeling of death and pain. She thought she sensed him down on the planet, but before she could confirm the feeling his ship hailed her.

"Jedi Starfighter, this is the  _ Tenacity _ . Do you copy?"

She opened the channel. "Copy  _ Tenacity _ , this is High General Depa Billaba looking for General Windu, is he onboard?"

There was a moment of silence before she got an answer. "General Windu is planetside, ma'am. But- he's critically injured."

The soldier's voice had a tinge of hope in it, as if warily confident that the Jedi would somehow make everything alright. And how Depa wished she could. 

"I am aware, trooper." She responded calmly. "Send me his coordinates."

"Sending coordinates now."

The moment the location came through it was entered into the ship's autopilot, and a minute later she was on the ground meters away from the camp the 2nd had set up. It was obvious that the battle was over by the stillness of the air, and now she could feel her master, clinging on to life by a thread.

Her feet hit the ground before the ship's engine was fully off, and a group of troopers greeted her. 

"General Windu's tent is that one, Ma'am." One of them said, his voice carrying the same hesitant hope as the man's on the ship.

She had already known that, but she uttered a quick "Thank you." anyway. Depa jogged the short distance to the shelter, not wasting a moment to speak to the soldiers standing outside before entering. She hit her knees beside his body, ignoring the startled exclamations of his commander and medic as her eyes adjusted to the change in brightness and she was able to see Mace on the mat.

He was visibly shaking, and gaping in his torso was a hole where a blast had been ripped through. She knew by just looking at the wound he couldn't be saved. Depa took his hand, squeezing it hard as she watched his face muscles spasm. It was clear he was in his last minutes of life, and her heart ached with the knowledge. 

"Mace." She said quietly, her voice already shaking slightly.

Her master's eyes opened and darted around the space before finding her face. He looked at her like he couldn't quite believe she was real. His hand twitched, and he opened his mouth, gasping shallowly. 

"Depa?" He rasped.

"I'm here." She murmured, brushing her other hand on his clammy forehead and opening her presence to him. She pushed her grief away, trying to surround him in light. But Mace felt it anyway, he knew her too well for her to hide her feelings from him. His eyes darkened, and in them Depa saw his pain and his question. 

_ Will you be alright? _

Depa knew that Mace would hang on to life if she asked him to, but that would just prolong his suffering. He would die before the day was over either way. So she smiled at him.

"You can go." She whispered, refusing to let the tears in her voice fall down her cheeks. Of course in his final moments he would be worried about the well beings of others. "We'll be alright."

Mace didn't exactly smile, but his face relaxed into what could only be described as peace. His presence swelled in the force, brushing against hers in a tender goodbye. Depa did the same, putting as much love and assurance as she could into the gesture. His eyes closed, his breathing slowed, and within a minute Mace Windu, General, Jedi Master, and Champion of the Order, was dead.

Depa bent her head to keep from sobbing as she felt their bond break. But that didn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks and she clasped his hand in both of hers. 

"Master." She whispered. "Mace. Mace _ , please _ ."

She didn't know what she was begging for but she couldn't stop, breathing his name over and over until her throat became too constricted. 

"Time of death, 17:47." The medic muttered, and she heard the Commander's breath hitch. She looked up at him (Ponds, if she remembered correctly.) He was kneeling across from her, holding Mace's other hand with one of his, the other touching his heart in a salute. Something about the sight, the finality of it perhaps, made Depa break. 

She bent her head again, but she didn't sob this time. What she felt was far beyond the tears that streamed down her cheeks. Grief tore a rift in her heart so deep and painful it took her breath away. She didn't move, sitting there in the darkness of the tent while Mace's hand quickly turned cold and stiff. The medic finally asked both of them to leave, and Ponds stood first, Depa waited a moment more, willing her brain just to think a goodbye.

She couldn't. Not yet. So she left, walking past the men who looked at her with hopeful expressions that faded into sadness as soon as they saw her face. She walked past her ship, past the guards that formed a perimeter around the camp. 

Then she stopped, and sat on the soft grass, looking off to the horizon that turned blue and green as light faded from the sky. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ouch. I'm sorry any Mace and Depa lovers who read this. I just had the idea in my head for weeks and had to write it.


End file.
